Pneumatic thread remover for looms



June 12, 1951 R. G. TURNER PNEUMATIC THREAD REMOVER FOR LOOMS Filed Dec.a0. 1949 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY RICHARD s. TURNER.

Patented June 12, 1951 PNEUMATIC THREAD REMOVER FOR LOOMS Richard G.Turner, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works,Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 30,1949, Serial No. 136,023

This invention relates to improvements in pneumatic thread removers forlooms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a threadremover so constructed that it will be held frictionally in itsinoperative position but is disconnected from the friction means whenmoved to operating position to be free to remain in the latter positionby the action of gravity.

In weft replenishing looms a thread generally extends along the lay fromthe cloth selvage to the depleted outgoing bobbin and it is necessary toremove this thread in order to prevent it from being whipped into thewarp shed. Heretofore I haveproposed pneumatic means for removing thisthread including a tube and supporting structure for it normally held inraised inoperative position above the lay by friction means and moved bythe bobbin transferrer arm to its thread pick-up position. The motionderived from the transferrer arm is quick and there is likely to be somerebounding of the remover in a direction from its proper pick-upposition back to its normal position. The friction means heretofore usedacts to hold the remover in its rebounded position and prevents it fromreturning to its proper pick-up position.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a controlfor the thread remover which holds it frictionally in its in inoperativeposition and moves the remover out of the range of the friction means atthe time of a weft replenishing operation so that the remover can fallby gravity to its correct thread pick-up position. By this constructionany slight rebounding which may occur incident to arrival of the threadremover in its lowest position can be followed by a downward motion dueto gravity, the friction means at that time not being able to restrictfree motion of the remover.

provide means which may be located on the transferrer arm which actspositively on the remover only long enough to disengage it from itsfriction holding means, after which the remover falls to pick-upposition. By this construction the remover is first given a positivemotion to release 4 Claims. (01. 139-256) it from the friction means,after which the positive means, such as the aforesaid stud, stops andthe remover is free to continue its motion by gravity to its threadpick-up position, thereby reducing likelihood of upward rebounding.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of theinvention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a weft replenishing loom having theinvention applied thereto and showing the thread remover in its normalinactive position, the lay and part of the loom frame being shown incross section,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation looking in the direction of arrow2, Fig. 1, parts being in section,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed horizontal section on line 3-3, Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4, Fig. 3, the supporting standfor the reserve bobbin magaizne being omitted,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to a part of Fig. 1 but shows the threadremover in its thread pick-up position detached from the friction meanswhich normally holds it in inoperative position, and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic plan of the shuttle and cloth looking in thedirection of arrow 6, Fig. 5.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the loom frame 43 has mounted thereona stand H supporting a pivot l2 for a reserve bobbin magazine M. Themagazine may be provided with reserve bobbins (not shown) arranged intwo stacks which feed by gravity toward transfer positions. Atransferrer arm i3 is normally in raised position, but

, when a weft replenishing operation of the loom occurs the arm descendsto push a bobbin from the magazine into a shuttle S in a shuttle box 14on the lay I5. The transferring operation ordinarily occurs as the layis moving toward its front center position, or toward the right asviewed in Fig. l. The transferrer arm is supported pivotally on a studit which is held stationary with respect to the stand H.

The lay has extending thereacross a mass of deformable material I? whichmay be in the form of a pile fabric. The thread T of the outgoing bobbinin shuttle S extends from the shuttle box M back to the selvage offabric F across the top of the piles of the mass of material I! at apoint forward of the back Is of the shuttle box.

A pneumatic thread remover designated genorally at R. includes a threadpick-up head H having a tube 25 having an intake mouth 2| and a threadpick-up lip 22 which extend forwardly from a position behind the intakemouth 2 I. The tube 20 is connected at its upper end to a hose 23 inwhich subatmospheric pressures exist during the thread pick-upoperation. The tube 20 is mounted at the rear of a rod 24 mountedyieldingly for forward motion relatively to a carrier designatedgenerally at C. A rod 25 reciprocates vertically once for each pick ofthe loom, rising as the lay moves rearwardly under a lateral wing 25 onthe carrier.

The carrier C is provided with front and back ears 2] in which the rod24 is slidably mounted in a back and forth direction, and a collar 28secured to the rod between the ears is held against the rear ear 2! by acompression spring 29. The right lower end of carrier C is pro videdwith a stop finger 313 for engagement with a stop 3! held as at 32 in aback and forth adjusted position on the loom frame ill.

Except as noted hereinafter the matter as thus far described may be ofcommon construction. The rod 2d and carrier will be normally in theraised position as shown in Fig. 1 with the head H above the lay ininoperative position, but when a weft replenishing operation occurs thehead will be in the thread pickup position shown in Fig. with tongue orlip 22 embedded in the mass of material I! at a point behind the threadAt a later time in the loom cycle rod 25 rises to engage wing 25 andmove the thread remover back to its normal position.

In carrying the present invention into effect provision is made forholding the carrier frictionally in its inactive position and forpositively disengaging the remover from the friction holding means sothat the remover may then move by gravity to its correct pick-upposition. The carrier includes in its construction a fiat plate so lyinggenerally in a vertical plane and having the ears 2'! and wing 28 strucklaterally there from. The previously described stop 35 may also be apart Of this plate 40.

The plate M is provided with a bore 4! which fits loosely on a bearing42 between a shoulder 43 on stud l6 and a collar 3 held against a secondsmaller shoulder 15 on stud I 6 by nut 65 threaded on reduced end 41 ofthe stud. Bearing A2 is slightly wider than the thickness of plate id.The carrier is therefore free to move pivotally on stud l6 and thefriction means customarily used with thread removers of the general typeset forth herein and located on stud E6 is omitted.

Extending upwardly from the body in is a finger 5e adapted to enterbetween resilient friction holding plates or jaws 5i and 52 locatedrespectively to the right and left of the finger as viewed in Fig. 3.These plates 51 and 52 may be separated by a spacing block 53 and thelatter together with the spring plates may be secured to the stand I! byscrews 54, see Fig. 3.

Extending laterally from the transferrer arm is a stud 60 which liesover the rear end SI of the body dB. This stud is at a higher 1evel thanthose used heretofore and may be of simple construction as shown in Fig.2.

In the operation of the invention the thread remover and carrier 4Q willnormally be in the raised inoperative position shown in Fig. 1 with thefinger 55] held frictionally between the side plates 5| and 52 of thefriction device and head H above the path of the shuttle. When a weftreplenishing operation occurs the transferrer arm descends as alreadydescribed and in doing so causes the stud 60 to engage the rear end SIof body 40 and rock the latter in a counter-clockwise direction, Fig. 1,to move the finger 50 rearwardly away from and out of engagement withthe plates 5! and 52. Thereafter the remover and parts associated withit will be able to continue the counter-clockwise motion under theaction of gravity until the stop finger 3!) engages the stop 31. Theremover will then be in operating thread pick-up position with the lipor tongue 22 extending into the mass of material ll to a depth belowthat of the thread T to be removed.

It is necessary for the stud 6!] to serve the purpose only ofdisengaging the remover from its friction holding means, and it is notnecessary for the stud to follow the carrier after the latter is free tofall by gravity. This result can be accomplished by having the stud 68located high enough on the transferrer arm so that it will not be ableto maintain positive engagement with the body 40 throughout the entiredownward motion of the latter. By having the stud 68 thus placed theremover R is out of engagement with stud [it during the latter part ofthe downward motion of the head H.

After the remover has been moved to its thread pick-up position the laywill move rearwardly and the thread will be directed by the lip 22toward the intake mouth 2|, and the thread, having been out at a pointbeyond the intake mouth with reference to the cloth selvage, will bedrawn partly into the tube 29 due to the subatmospheri'c pressuresexisting within the hose 23. As the lay moves rearwardly after weftreplenishment rod 25 engages the wing 26 and rocks the remover in aclockwise direction, thereby resetting the finger 50 between theresilient friction holding plates 5| and 52.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides simplemeans by which the pneumatic thread remover may be held in idleinoperative position by a friction means from which it is detached bythe transferrer arm during the first part of the movement of the removertoward its operating position. Thereafter the remover continues itsmotion by gravity, and should the remover rebound slightly the finger 5%will be out of reach of the friction means and the latter will not beable to restrain the remover or hold it in its rebounded position.Furthermore, since the final part of motion of the remover to itsoperating position is eifected by gravity the stud 6!] on thetransferrer arm need have positive engagement with the carrier 49 nolonger than is necessary to move the finger 50 away from the spring jaws5! and 52.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom having a thread remaining from theoutgoing bobbin incident to a weft replenishing operation by atransferrer arm, a pneumatic remover for the thread, a carrier on whichthe remover is mounted, friction means engaging the carrier normallyholding the latter in position to maintain the remover in inoperativeposition above the thread pick-up position thereof, a stop for thecarrier effective when engaging the latter to limit downward motion ofthe remover by gravity and hold the remover in thread pick-up position,means on the transferrer arm effective incident to a weft replenishingoperation to disengage the carrier from the friction means, whereuponthe remover falls by gravity to thread pick-up position, and meansoperating subsequent to the replenishing operation to return the carrierto normal holding relation with said friction means.

2. In a weft replenishing loom having a thread remaining from theoutgoing bobbin incident to a weft replenishing operation by atransferrer arm, a pneumatic remover for the thread, a carrier on whichthe remover is mounted, a fiat wing rigid with the carrier, stationaryfriction means normally engaging the wing and cooperating with thelatter to hold the carrier in position to keep the remover ininoperative position above the thread pick-up position thereof, means onthe transferrer arm incident to a weft replenishing operation detachingthe wing from the friction means, whereupon the remover falls by gravityto the thread pick-up position thereof, a stop engaging the carrier toprevent further downward motion of the remover when the latter reachesthe thread pick-up position thereof, and means operating subsequent tothe replenishing operation raising the remover to the inoperativeposition thereof and returning the wing to holding relation with thefriction means.

3. In a weft replenishing loom having a thread remaining from theoutgoing bobbin incident to a weft replenishing operation, a pneumaticremover for the thread, a carrier on which the remover is mounted,friction means engaging the carrier only when the latter is in aposition to maintain the remover at or near the inoperative positionthereof above the thread pick-up position thereof, the remover moving bygravity to the thread pick-up position thereof when the carrier isdisengaged from the friction means,

means disengaging the carrier from the friction means incident to a weftreplenishing operation, a stop engaging the carrier when the remover hasfallen by gravity to the thread pick-up position thereof, and meansoperating subsequent to the replenishing operation returning the carrierto engagement with the friction means.

4. In a weft replenishing loom having a thread remaining from theoutgoing bobbin incident to a weft replenishing operation by atransferrer arm pivoted on a stud, a pneumatic remover for the thread, acarrier on which the remover is supported mounted for free pivotalmovement on said stud, friction means engaging the carrier normallyholding the latter only when the remover is in inoperative positionabove the thread pick-up position thereof, angular movement of thecarrier about the stud in a direction to lower the remover effectingdisengagement of the carrier from the friction means, after which theremover moves by gravity to the thread pick-up position thereof, meansoperating incident to a weft replenishing operation moving the carrierangularly with respect to said stud to disengage the carrier from thefriction means, a stop arresting further angular motion of the carrierabout said stud when the remover reaches the thread pick-up positionthereof, and means operating subsequent to the replenishing operation toreturn the carrier to holding engagement with said friction means.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,448,161 Turner Aug. 31, 19482,490,436 Hemingway Dec. 6, 1949

